Arnold’s 60 civilian Defense Department employees were recalled this week, but the contractor on base is making its budget stretch by asking employees to take vacation time. Credit: Blake Farmer / WPLN

Most of the Air Force contractors at Arnold Engineering Development Center have been advised to take a week or two off. Their employer’s funding is running out as the federal government shutdown drags on.

Sixty full-time Department of Defense employees were recalled from furloughs this week after the Pentagon deemed more people as essential. But most of the employees working for the Air Force in Tullahoma are contractors.

Aerospace Testing Alliance has a workforce of nearly 1,700. And spokesperson Kathy Gattis says they’ve been asked to take vacation time next week, which will help the company stretch its federal funding. Otherwise, the Air Force contractor would run out of money by the end of the month.

Gattis says it’s a good time for employees to take leave anyway because there’s a water outage on the base. But there’s still plenty of work to be done. She says the wind tunnels on base have a heavier schedule than usual in November and December.